Prop. 63 unpopular in Shasta County

Andreas Fuhrmann/Record SearchlightBob Kosko, left, sells ammunition to Scott Farmer of Shasta on Wednesday at Olde West Gun & Loan in Redding. Farmer was buying bullets for a Luger his father brought back from World War II. Farmer said his dad was a tail gunner in a B-17 and was shot down three times. He doesn't know how his father got the gun.(Photo: Andreas Fuhrmann)Buy Photo

The way Chris Haggerty sees it, Proposition 63's passage Tuesday will make things more complicated for him and his customers.

When a customer walks in to Olde West Gun and Loan to buy a box of ammunition, he pays the clerk and walks out with the ammo. Under Prop. 63, that transaction will require the customer to undergo a background check before the sale is complete.

'It'll definitely be an inconvenience on the consumer and the retailer, with more paperwork,' said Haggerty, an employee at Olde West in Redding.

He wasn't very confident all the extra work will do much to prevent crimes committed with a gun.

'If what they want is to make it more of a hassle, then I believe it will be effective. If they want to prevent actual crime, then no, I don't think it will be effective,' he said.

The measure received about 62 percent of the vote statewide Tuesday. However, 72.7 percent of Shasta County voters cast ballots against the measure.

Except for a few minor changes, the proposition is the same as SB1235, signed by the governor earlier this year, said Sarah Bastiani, manager of Bastiani Arms in Redding.

In addition to requiring a background check during ammunition sales, Prop. 63 also requires anyone with a high-capacity gun magazine — carrying more than 10 rounds — to turn them over to law enforcement.

Guns with high capacity magazines have not been sold in California since 2000, Haggerty said. Prop 63 would require those who own high-capacity magazines to hand them over to law enforcement or face an infraction fine, he said.

Also under Prop 63, ammunition must be purchased through a licensed dealer, and requires lost or stolen firearms to be reported to law enforcement. Most of the provisions on ammunition sales go into effect Jan. 1, 2018.

The law also changes the penalties for gun theft. Currently, stealing a gun worth $950 or less is a misdemeanor. Prop. 63 would make all gun thefts a felony.

Beginning in July 2019, ammo purchased out of state also cannot be brought into California without first having the ammunition delivered to a licensed dealer.

The ban on bringing ammunition into California will be a hardship on hunters, said Donn Walgamuth of Redding, an avid hunter and president of the board of directors for the California Deer Association.

Many California residents hunt in other states, where they also buy ammunition, he said. But Prop. 63 will prevent them from bringing their ammo — including shotgun shells — back into the state, he said.

Walgamuth said he didn't think the ammunition sales restrictions would prevent gun crimes.

'It's nothing that the criminals have ever paid attention to in the past,' he said. 'I don't know why they would (pay attention) now.'

Prop. 63 supporters, including U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, said the measure will keep guns away from criminals and others not authorized to own firearms.

'Proposition 63 — the Safety for All Act — will save lives by closing loopholes to prevent dangerous criminals, domestic abusers and the dangerously mentally ill from obtaining and using deadly weapons,' the ballot argument says.

Walgamuth said criminals aren't allowed to have guns now, so they wouldn't need ammunition. But if they have a gun illegally, it is likely they also would have ammunition illegally, he said.

'It just puts more constraints on law-abiding citizens,' he said.

Patrick Jones, who manages Jones Fort gun shop in Redding, said the new law will be more than an inconvenience.

'It'll be more than a hassle. It'll be a killer,' he said.

The law is a further erosion of gun owners' rights in California, and the law will only affect those who follow the law, rather than criminals who flaunt it, he said.